Carriers for food and beverages are made of various materials, including molded pulp. In the process of pulp molding, an article is formed from a slurry of aqueous pulp fiber by applying vacuum to forming molds and screens, followed by drying of the formed article. It is known in the art to form food and/or beverage carriers of molded pulp.
Food and beverage carriers are used in many settings, for example take out food service, institutional food service, ball park food service, and the like. These carriers typically are shaped to accommodate one or more beverage cups, and optionally containers of food or other items in addition to beverage cups. See, e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,208,006 and 4,381,847.
Many cup carriers in the prior art provide sockets for four cups. When only two cups need to be carried, these carriers use excess material and take up unnecessary storage space.
Two-cup carriers formed of folded cardboard are known in the art, with an integral carrying handle also formed of cardboard. An example of this type of construction is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,084. While this type of carrier is suitable for many purposes, it tends to lack solidity and rigidity, and normally does not provide for gripping on the side of the carrier.
The following disclosures are mentioned as representative of the prior art: U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,065; U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,008; U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,371; U.S. Des. Pat. No. 302,114; U.S. Des. Pat. No. 290,580; U.S. Des. Pat. No. 289,001; U.S. Des. Pat. No. 253,561; U.S. Des. Pat. No. 250,243; U.S. Des. Pat. No. 249,769; U.S. Des. Pat. No. 319,579; U.S. Des. Pat. No. 309,258; U.S. Des. Pat. No. 274, 110; U.S. Des. Pat. No. 302,122; U.S. Des. Pat. No. 249,622; U.S. Des. Pat. No. 249,620; and U.S. Des. Pat. No. 236,575.